Darkwood

Darkwood

16 Achievements

39-47h

PS5
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Merciful

Merciful

Complete Chapter 2 without burning the Talking Tree.

1.4%

How to unlock the Merciful achievement in Darkwood - Definitive Guide

I was thinking about submitting a video guide, but this whole sequence of the game is very dark and winding, and therefore I think this may be one of the rare occasions a text guide may be more productive. There are video guides on YouTube if you wish to watch them to get a feel for the entire sequence - I would recommend it to build some familiarity, but not necessarily to follow.

Anyway - this achievement is for completing Chapter 2 without burning the Talking Tree by


Save Exploit

Now, before we start, this is usually a one-shot attempt. Fail in anyway, and the chance is gone.

However: there is a finicky save exploit that can be utilised, so you don’t have to re-do the entire game if you die. What I did, once I entered the Dream Sequence and the game had saved, is to immediately go to to you Xbox Menu > Settings > General > Network Settings > Go Offline. This isolates your current save from you Cloud save, allowing you to restart the area if you fail. It’s also good to build practice in throughout the sequence.

If you DO fail/die, immediately: hit the Home button on your controller > scroll down to Darkwood > Hit Start > Manage Game and Add-Ons > Saved Data > (Your Gamertag) > Delete From Console. If you are offline, this will delete the save from your console ONLY. Close the game/application. Reconnect to Live. If followed correctly, you can load up the game, load up your Cloud save, and you should be back at the start of the sequence. Follow the steps to disconnect, and retry your run.

The Dream Sequence

This is a challenging sequence. But luckily we have a save game exploit we can fall back on to save us time, energy, and allow us to practice.

The Sequence is broken in to 4 distinct sections; The Maze, The Black Chomper Chase, The Second (or Dark) Maze, and The Mouth. I will put each of the sections as separate spoilers, for ease of reading and to save space of the page.

Section 1: The Maze



Section 2 - The Black Chomper Chase



At this point - once you’re sure you’re safe, reconnect to Live to stop the “do you own this game?” notification popping up. Then quickly disconnect again, resuming your run. This may briefly boot you back to the Xbox Home Screen, don’t worry, your game is still where you left it. Resume as normal once you’re back offline.

Section 3 - The Dark Maze



Section 4 - The Mouth



Once through and safe. You can reconnect to Xbox Live.

The Final Stretch



Practice with the save game workaround, it can easily be picked up. I did it on my fourth attempt, it’s not too difficult once you learn the paths and area.

Good luck!
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19 Dec 2022 01:13

2 Comments
I appreciate the text guide, and it is helpful, but I have a few comments.

1. "At this point - once you’re sure you’re safe, reconnect to Live to stop the “do you own this game?” notification popping up. Then quickly disconnect again, resuming your run. This may briefly boot you back to the Xbox Home Screen, don’t worry, your game is still where you left it. Resume as normal once you’re back offline."

This was my first time to play any game offline, so I don't know how common this popup you're talking about is, but I didn't see it, and I had my system offline for hours. I will note that there isn't a save here, so if someone isn't seeing the popup you're talking about, there's no reason to connect then disconnect.

2. "But do NOT use your torch here. You will die much, MUCH quicker than you normally would."

Oh, no, no, no. I could not disagree more. I did it without the flashlight and couldn't find my way around. Even when watching video guides (where everyone used their flashlight with no problems), I kept getting lost. I tried it four times because of your stern warning, and I kept getting beaten by the whatever that thing is that follows you around. Then I tried it with my flashlight on and made it easily on the first try. You can cast your light into the distance and make those shiny stones pop like fireworks. So easy. And the enemy didn't bother me as much, either. This warning about not using the flashlight made obtaining this achievement much harder for me than it should have been.

3. "the achievement will pop once you’ve made it back on to normal ground."

I didn't get the achievement popup this time, but I checked my notifications as soon as I got to the oven on the surface, and I didn't have it. I checked again after I completed the chapter, and the notification was there. I'm not sure if there was just a long delay, or it didn't actually unlock until I completed the chapter, but the description suggests it's the latter.
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By Lt Davo on 19 Oct 2023 22:17
Thanks for the feedback!

I believe I got the notification because I game share, so I had to reconnect. I believe it tried it once without doing so and it booted me off the game.

It’s been a while since I played so my memory is fuzzy, but I recall dying very quickly with light. I’ve seen videos for others too. Not sure if you found something, or we were doing it wrong. My advice was from my own experience, but your input may help others

The timing of the pop may have something to do with me dis/reconnecting to Live, but that’s about the time it popped for me.
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By x I LAZ I x on 19 Oct 2023 22:33
Spare the Talking Tree, find the entrance to the bunker at the Radio Tower and relive the dream by hitting the mushrooms. Drop the save onto the flash drive as soon as you fall asleep. Video attached https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4F-5CcFLSA
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24 May 2019 16:17